Wednesday 22 June 2011

A midsummer garden party




From beyond the computer and into my back garden: welcome to Enid from Cape Town, Jaywalker from Tasmania, and Lilac in May from Marlow, plus friends (including Lazywell, who took the photographs with his customary panache). A good time was had by all: we ate gorgeous cupcakes from the Love Bakery, and a delicious homemade cake baked for the occasion by Lilac in May (if we're very lucky, she will post her recipe). The wind blew hard, but the rain held off -- so there we sat, discussing reading and writing; life and love and art, and the blurring of the lines between them. How sweet it was to meet the people that I have come to know on this blog -- to put faces to names, and to hear the voices that emerge from between the lines. We toasted absent friends -- all the other readers here, and elsewhere, and the connections between us -- and wished that Kairu could have magically appeared, as if from Narnia and into north London.
Here's to more summer days, and longer conversations; to friendship in all its forms, and a great many cakes.

11 comments:

kairu said...

What beautiful cupcakes! What a pleasure it is to hear about such a lovely meeting, and how sorry I am to be half a world away. The internet can be a strangely wondrous thing; some of the dearest people I know I have met online, and I hope to keep on meeting them...

Here's to friendship, and summer evenings, and talking about books and art and all manner of things that give us joy. And cake! Let there always be cake.

Anonymous said...

looks lovely Justine, and how generous of you to open up your home. Hope you getting some wonderful summer days

Lilacs said...

Thank you for hosting a lovely afternoon with the cake, tea and the chance to put faces to names of far flung on-line friends. I will remember it for a very long time.
The beautiful paperback copy of Chanel The Life And The Legend has pride of place on my book shelf.

enid said...

Thank you for magically conjuring up the best tea party ever. The company, cakes and friends were something I shall treasure as a memory for always. My beautiful paperback Chanel will accompany me back home and always be my trigger to be my madeline ( sorry Proust ) of a terrific tea party.

Unknown said...

Looks like you had a fabulous afternoon. Thank you for showing a photograph of our cupcakes - you are so lovely. I was in Lutyens and Rubinstein last week and they mentioned the forthcoming paperback version of Coco Chanel which they are very excited about. My daughter and I love your book - it is a source of inspiration for both of us.

Reading Tea Leaves said...

What a lovely idea to have a garden party for fellow bloggers. Those cup-cakes look great!

After reading 'Daphne' I have been inspired to pick up 'The Infernal World of Branwell Bronte'. My first foray into a DDM biography - and a great read.

Jeanne
x

Karen, Surrey said...

How fantastic of you to open your garden to your blogging "family". A lovely, and very generous thing to do. It sounds like you all had a great time.

Justine Picardie said...

Thanks to everyone for comments, and especially to Sam at the Love Bakery, for gorgeous cupcakes. This was a toe into the water of blogging gatherings, but would love to do it again.

jaywalker said...

Sorry not to have replied earlier and thanked Justine for her wonderful hospitality but as some of you know we are traveling and have been in Paris without wifi for a while.
It was a wonderful afternoon and magical to meet up in a way that just seemed to come together.
Enid...I haven't forgotten and will send photos now we are back in England.
Justine, we did get to rue Cambon and the back door of the Ritz and the bookshop and I have sent photos.
Another bit of serendipity...in Paris we came across, completely by accident, Peter James talking at the rue de Rivoli branch of W H Smith!

Thank you again, Justine.

Aurelija said...

Dear Justine,

I would like to apologise for leaving this message here, but I could not find your contact details. I am a Masters student studying Fashion at UCA. My Prof. Ulrich Lehmann was on the panel with you at Art Couture on 21.05.11 and suggested to get in touch with you regarding my dissertation. I am writing about fashion language and the way Fashion is expressed through words, or rather fashion's novelty.
I can imagine how busy you are, but if you have 20 minutes of your spear time, could you answer few questions ?

I would be very grateful !

my email address: aurelija.gudaite@gmail.com

Kind regards,
Aurelija

zerry ht said...

Truly I am in love with these brilliant garden party photos. At some local barn themed San Francisco event venues we also attended a fun engagement bash. My cousin got engaged and the couple hosted a chic barn celebration party. It was really very joyous.